NY Unemployment Claim: Only 8 Effective Days Left Despite BYE Date of 02/13/2022 - What Does This Mean?
I'm getting confused about my unemployment claim. My current claim shows a start date of 02/08/2021 with a Benefit Year Ending date of 02/13/2022. It shows I have 8 effective days remaining as of 08/07/2021. My last certification was for the week ending 08/01/2021 and the payment was released on 08/03/2021. What I don't understand is whether I should be focusing on my BYE date or the effective days remaining? If I only have 8 days left, does that mean I only have about 2 more weeks of benefits even though my BYE date isn't until February 2022? Can someone explain how this works? The DOL website explanation about effective days is confusing me even more. On my account page, there's this explanation: "Effective Days: Each day in a week (Monday through Sunday) that you qualify for benefits is called an effective day. There is a maximum of 4 effective days each week, and you must qualify for all 4 effective days in order to receive your total weekly benefit rate. For each day in the week that you are not eligible to receive benefits, you will receive one less effective day, which is equivalent to one fourth of your weekly benefit." I also notice there's a note that says "Weekly payments for $600 showing "0" under the "Effective Days" column, and Debit Card or Direct Deposit under the "Type" column, are the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) payments." So if I have 8 effective days remaining, does that mean I only have 2 weeks left to certify? I'm really confused about how this works with my Benefit Year Ending date being in February. Will my benefits actually end much sooner than my BYE date suggests?
43 comments
Emma Thompson
So the effective days remaining is how many days worth of benefits you have left. Since each week has 4 effective days (basically, each effective day = 1/4 of your weekly benefit), if you have 7 days left, you have 1 full week (4 days) plus 3 more days. So essentially, you have less than 2 weeks of benefits left, regardless of your BYE date. The BYE date is just the last possible date you could claim benefits, but you still need to have effective days available.
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Javier Cruz
Thanks for explaining. So that means I'm almost out of benefits even though my BYE date is months away? That sucks 😭
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Malik Jackson
Exactly what happened to me. Had a BYE date in June but ran out of effective days in February. The BYE is just the outer limit, but your actual benefits can run out way before that.
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Isabella Costa
This is why the NY system is so confusing. They should make it clearer that the effective days are the real limiting factor.
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StarSurfer
I had the same issue last year! After trying to call for weeks with no luck, I finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me a callback from an actual unemployment agent. Best money I ever spent to get my questions answered! They helped me understand my claim end date and even helped me file for an extension. Check out this video that explains how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE
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Ravi Malhotra
Does this actually work? Sounds too good to be true tbh
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StarSurfer
100% worked for me. I was skeptical too but was desperate after trying to get through on my own for 3 weeks. Got a callback within a couple hours and fixed my issue in 10 minutes!
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Freya Christensen
sounds like one of those scam services that promise the world and deliver nothing... anyone else try this?
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Omar Hassan
Not a scam. I used it twice when my claim was messed up. Saved me hours of redial hell.
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Chloe Robinson
how does it even work? do they have some special access or something?
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StarSurfer
They basically automate the calling process and wait on hold for you. When a real agent picks up, they connect you. No magic access - just takes the painful part out of your hands.
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Diego Chavez
BYE date is the expiration of your claim year. Effective days are how many actual benefit days you have left. Each week = 4 effective days. So with 7 days, you have 1 week + 3 days left. Once you run out of effective days, you're done even if you haven't reached your BYE date yet.
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NeonNebula
I'm in the exact same boat! My effective days are almost gone but my BYE date is months away. Called ny unemployment like 50 times with no luck getting through. Does anyone know if we can apply for an extension when the days run out?
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Anastasia Kozlov
Extensions ended in September when all the federal programs stopped. If you exhaust your regular UI now, you're basically out of luck until you qualify for a new benefit year.
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NeonNebula
Ugh that's what I was afraid of. This system is so broken 😡
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Sean Kelly
Try claimyr.com - they'll get you through to someone who can tell you for sure what options you have left. Better than guessing or trying to decipher the confusing website.
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Zara Mirza
Listen carefully: the effective days remaining is THE ONLY thing that matters now. BYE date was more important when there were automatic extensions available. Now that all those pandemic programs ended, once your effective days run out, you're done until you qualify for a new claim by working and earning enough in a new base period. If you have 7 days left, that means you have one full week (4 days) plus 3 more days from another week. So basically a week and 3/4 left of benefits. You should be job searching heavily right now because your benefits are almost gone! The BYE date is just the maximum possible time your claim could last IF you had enough effective days, but clearly you don't. For anyone struggling to get answers by phone, I highly recommend using claimyr.com - they'll get you a callback from an actual DOL agent so you don't waste hours redialing. Talking to an agent got my issues sorted in minutes when I was dealing with this exact confusion.
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Javier Cruz
Thank you!! This is the clearest explanation I've seen. I've been job hunting but will step it up now that I know my benefits are almost gone.
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Luca Russo
This is the hard truth right here. Many people don't realize the extensions are all gone now.
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Nia Harris
the system is designed to be confusing on purpose i swear 🤬
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GalaxyGazer
Facts. They hope people will just give up trying to understand their benefits.
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Mateo Sanchez
Yep! And the phone lines are impossible to get through on. Been trying for weeks!
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Aisha Mahmood
fr fr - they make it impossible to talk to anyone. I finally got through using claimyr.com after weeks of trying on my own
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Ethan Moore
Short answer: effective days trump everything else. If you run out of effective days before your BYE date, your benefits stop. Period.
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Yuki Kobayashi
I had a similar situation last year. Effective days ran out in December even though my BYE date was in April. Called and they said once effective days are gone, that's it - no more benefits until you qualify for a new claim by working again. Start applying for jobs ASAP!
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Javier Cruz
Thanks for the heads up. Did you try to file a new claim right away or did you have to wait until your BYE date?
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Yuki Kobayashi
Had to wait until I worked enough quarters to qualify for a new claim. They calculate how much you worked in your 'base period' to determine eligibility.
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Carmen Vega
OK let me break this down for everyone confused about BYE vs effective days: 1) Your BYE (Benefit Year End) date is the maximum window of time your claim can exist. It's typically 1 year from when you first filed. 2) Effective days are your actual benefit days. Each week has 4 effective days maximum (M-T-W-T count as one day each, and F-S-S count as one day together). So 4 effective days = 1 week of benefits. 3) Even if your BYE date is far in the future, once you run out of effective days, your benefits STOP. No more money. 4) With 7 effective days remaining, you have 1 full week (4 days) + 3/4 of another week, so less than 2 weeks total. 5) The maximum amount of effective days on a regular UI claim is 104 (26 weeks x 4 days per week). If you're down to 7, you've used 97 already. 6) There are NO MORE EXTENSIONS available now that the federal programs ended in September. 7) If you need to contact an agent to discuss your options (highly recommended), use claimyr.com - it's the only reliable way to get through to NY unemployment these days. They'll call and wait on hold for you, then connect you when an agent answers. Hope this clears things up!
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QuantumQuester
This should be pinned at the top! Perfect explanation 💯
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Andre Moreau
Wait so F-S-S only count as ONE effective day together? I didn't know that part!
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Carmen Vega
No no sorry for the confusion - I was trying to explain how they calculate partial weeks in some situations. For regular benefits, each day (Mon-Sun) can potentially be an effective day, but the max per week is 4.
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Javier Cruz
Thank you so much for this detailed explanation! This makes so much more sense now.
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Zoe Stavros
dont even bother with the website info... just call and talk to someone. I was dealing with the same confusion and the agent explained everything. took forever to get through tho 🙄
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Jamal Harris
easier said than done! I've been trying to call for 3 weeks with no luck
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Mei Chen
Try claimyr.com - they'll get you through to an agent without the endless redial game
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Liam Sullivan
BYE date means nothing if you run out of effective days first. Think of effective days as your gas tank and the BYE date as your car's warranty expiration. Your car isn't going anywhere without gas even if the warranty is still valid.
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Amara Okafor
Best analogy I've seen for this! 👍
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Javier Cruz
This makes perfect sense, thank you!
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CosmicCommander
NY unemployment is literally the most confusing system ever designed by humans. I swear they made it complicated on purpose so people give up claiming what they're entitled to.
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Giovanni Colombo
I've dealt with California and New York systems and NY is 10000x worse
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
They're all bad but New York takes the cake for sure
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Dylan Cooper
Its by design. Make it so confusing that ppl just give up.
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Sofia Ramirez
you better start job hunting NOW my friend. with only 7 days left, you're less than 2 weeks from $0 coming in. doesnt matter what the BYE date says.
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